Pickup truck fans have been yearning for the return of light-duty diesel trucks for quite some time now, and Ram Trucks has decided to deliver. The brand will soon begin selling a new small diesel engine in its Ram 1500 pickup, and other automakers will be following closely behind.
The big appeal from diesel engines is their fuel-efficiency. They simply earn better fuel economy ratings, and they're worth the extra cost of diesel gasoline when you factor in just how much you'll save in simply mileage calculations. They are, however, more expensive to produce and are, therefore, more costly to sell. This extra cost can be made up in as little as a year of ownership, according to Ram Trucks' execs.
Diesel engines have been used in light duty trucks before across all brands, but they declined in popularity when fuel costs were down for several years. They also weren't as efficient or as powerful as they are today. Now, however, with the cost of gasoline staying high, drivers are very interested in this type of powertrain again.
While the standard gasoline Ram 1500 achieves 22 mpg on the highway, the diesel engine model is expected to get quite a bit more. We haven't received official ratings yet, but the same engine gets about 30 mpg on the highway in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV. That's quite an improvement!
For more information about the new diesel model Ram 1500 as more updates become available, be sure to stay tuned here with our Fayetteville Dodge blog. We also invite everyone in greater Target, Syracuse, Auburn and Rome to stop by our showroom in Fayetteville, NY anytime for a chat!